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Healthcare Laundry Community Gathers to Discuss Trends, Best Practices and Innovations 

TRSA says reps from nearly 90% of North America’s healthcare laundry processors attended Nashville event

NASHVILLE — More than 200 commercial laundry professionals participated in the Textile Rental Services Association’s (TRSA) Healthcare Conference & Plant Tour here Nov. 30-Dec. 1, the association reports.

Attendees of the event hosted by the Omni Hotel included nearly 100 operators representing companies responsible for processing nearly 90% of all healthcare linens, garments and uniforms in North America, according to TRSA. The two-day conference featured informative, interactive discussions and panels on healthcare processing-related trends, best practices and innovations.

TRSA says the Healthcare Conference, an international event focused on processing linens, garments and uniforms for the healthcare sector, attracted senior executives from Alsco Health Assure, AmeriPride, Cintas, Crothall, Crown, Ecotex, Emerald, Faultless, Florida Linen, ImageFirst, K-Bro, Linen King, Foussard Montague, Mission, Nixon, Paris, Superior Health, Textile Care, UniFirst and Unitex, as well as all the major equipment manufacturers, chemical and linen supply partners.

The conference kicked off with a presentation by Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor for Fox News, offering his views on Healthcare’s Future-What’s Next? focusing on the current healthcare environment and healthcare reform, including his perspectives on what the Trump presidency may mean for the future of the law.

Innovative Market Driven Services panel representatives from healthcare laundry companies discussed the latest customer requirements pertaining to reducing waste and increasing patient safety and satisfaction. 

The panel was moderated by Scott Delin, Fashion Seal Healthcare, and included Jim Buchbinder, Economy Linen and Towel Service; Josh Ramirez, Medico Professional Linen Service; and Carey Scurria, Crothall Healthcare. Quality Product Innovations, a panel selected by the TRSA Healthcare Committee, included presentations by Ecolab on disinfectant chemical treatments, Jensen on the latest equipment efficiency advancements and Standard Textile on therapeutic linen developments.

Matthew Oglesby, MHSA, Healthtrust corporate director of environmental services for Supply Chain, offered a healthcare linen customer perspective on Infection Prevention Critical Control Points, including equipment, performance and physical facility expectations, perceptions and responsibilities for delivery, storage, distribution and collection. 

The association says additional sessions covered integrated healthcare delivery network trends, cart cleaning and disinfection, and RFID. The day closed with a panel presentation focused on the design and construction of the recently completed NOVO Health Services plant that attendees would tour the following day. 

NOVO Health Services’ 46,000-square-foot facility processes 10 million pounds per year and will undergo second-phase expansion to increase capacity to 24 million pounds, according to TRSA.

The tour provided opportunities for participants to speak directly with representatives from manufacturers that equipped the facility, and other suppliers, as well as NOVO executives.

In addition, participants received an update from Kevin Schwalb, TRSA vice president of government relations, regarding the impact of the new Trump administration on labor and tax policy, health reform and more, as well as updates on TRSA healthcare-related resources, including the Six Cs: Handling Soiled Linen in a Healthcare Environment training video (distributed to nearly 1,500 healthcare facilities) and a customizable healthcare linen loss animation, says the association.

Prior to the Healthcare Conference, TRSA’s Hygienically Clean Healthcare Advisory Council met to address evolving best practices and requirements. In addition, TRSA facilitated the first face-to-face meeting of the Hygienically Clean Users Group, composed of individuals representing the more than 100 plants that have earned Hygienically Clean Healthcare Certification.

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TRSA’s Healthcare Conference featured informative, interactive discussions and panels on healthcare processing-related trends, best practices and innovations. (Photos: TRSA)

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Attendees toured the recently completed NOVO Health Services plant and had the opportunity to meet with representatives of companies that equipped the facility. 

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].